One of my favorite Advent books is A Child In Winter: Advent, Christmas and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander. It draws on all of Houselander's writings and is beautifully edited by Thomas Hoffman.
Especially in this season when so many can feel blue with all the red and green and glitter, these words are beautiful. Perhaps this passage from A Child In Winter will help move you to prayer in these busy days...
Christ never goes away, never forgets,
all day long,
however you are,
whoever you are,
whatever you are doing...
His whole heart is concentrated on you...
He watches you with the eye of a mother
watching an only child...
He sees not the surface things,
not the imperfections inevitable to human frailty,
but the truly lovable in you,
your dependence on him,
your need of him...
Does a mother love her child less
because it fallen and bruised herself?
No, indeed; only (if that is possible) more!
What then must we do?
Listen...
Be silent...
Let Christ speak to you...
Forget yourself,
do not be self-centered,
let him tell you how he loves you,
show you what he's like,
prove to you that he is real.
Silence in your soul
means a gentle attention to Christ,
it means turning away from self to him,
it means looking at him,
listening to him...
God speaks silently...
God speaks in your heart;
if your heart is noisy, chattering,
you will not hear...
Every ordinary thing in your life is a word of God's love:
your home, your work, the clothes you wear,
the air you breathe, the food you eat,
the friends you delight in, the flowers under your feet
are all the courtesy of God's heart flung down on you!
All these things say one thing only:
"See how I love you."
And God asks only one thing,
that you will let him tell you this, directly, simply,
"See how I love you..."
This passage from the book was extremely helpful and just what I needed during this Advent. I will keep reading it during the next week or so .. just to get me through!!
ReplyDeleteGrace it sounds like this is a difficult time for you. Sometimes we forget those who find this season a difficult time when we are busy, especially when you have young children. I do not know you or where you live, but I will reach out my arms in prayer and think of you today and through the advent and Christmas season.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you Grace.
Thank you "secret santa", for your kind words and especially for your prayers. I will hold you in my prayers also!
ReplyDelete